Masked Knight

Rody’s expression tightened as he looked around. When he saw nobody else around, he showed a wry smile. "When did you arrive? Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?"

Nedis did not deny it as she replied, "I wanted to hear what kind of evil plan you have given to the Roland people."

Rody thought for a moment before replying, "My plan is not completely harmful to them. You have listened in for a long time. Don’t you think my plan made sense?"

Nedis pouted her mouth and walked over. She held his arm then pinched it for a moment.

Rody raised his eyebrows. His body was tough so Nedis's gentle pinches could barely be felt. He only felt the charming and gorgeous body of the woman close to him. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Rody moved his arm away.

"Hmph!" Nedis was extremely angry. "I thought you were honest to an absurd extent. Even I would not dare to suggest such a harmful plan…You are really someone that must not be underestimated."

Rody narrowed his eyes and coldly said, "Why are you trying to say?"

Nedis looked Rody, who had stepped away from her a little. She angrily raised her hand and gestured as she said, "Alright, let us talk about just this point. You asked the Roland people to reduce taxes…hmph. Reducing taxes is easy, but increasing it again after that is not! A person’s feelings such as greediness and selfishness are things you are familiar with. Now, in order to fight against the Temple, you lower the taxes. You then raise the taxes again in the future. Do you think the Roland people are that stupid?"

Rody shrugged his shoulders and replied, "What about it? When a disaster is at the doorstep this method is useful."

Nedis coldly said, "You then advised them to confiscate the properties of the rich and powerful families…Don’t tell me you do not understand the significance of this! Although those nobles amassed their wealth unfairly, you must also know that the Kingdoms were established mostly by these nobles. If you confiscate their property, how can the nobles support the King? If they listen to your lies, it will be the same as digging their own graves!"

Rody laughed and said, "I am only saying it. The King is also not an idiot. He will not confiscate all the properties of the nobles."

Nedis finally said in dissatisfaction, "You also told him to extort money from the Dwarven Kingdom…Don’t you know that the Dwarven Kingdom is now my, Nedis’s, territory? If you squeeze dry the Dwarven Kingdom, what kind of profit will I get?"

Rody could not say anything in reply so he simply kept quiet.

Nedis did not hesitate to continue, "What impressed me the most is that you brazenly advised them to draw out the duration of the war! You should know that the longer the war, the more serious the damage will be to the Roland Continent! A war that lasts for one year usually takes them two to three years to recover. If they listen to you and go for a long-term, all-out war, it will take decades or a century for them to recover!"

Rody narrowed his eyes in admiration to Nedis and said, "Since you already understand this, why are you still asking me?"

Nedis stared blankly at Rody for a while. She was seemingly at a loss, but she still sighed and said, "I am simply admiring you a little. If I can see this problem, the King will also be able to see it…You know this, too. However, you still proposed this to that general. Hmph. Right now, the Roland people are in a quandary. Although your idea would be harmful to implement, the Roland people would have to do what you say unless they get a better idea…This kind of approach is just like…" Nedis thought to herself for a while and laughed bitterly. "It is like digging a hole then waiting for the Roland people to jump in."

Rody also laughed. He added to Nedis’s words, "On top of that, they will have to jump in despite knowing that there is a hole in front of them!"

Nedis suddenly revealed a sharp gaze as she approached a few steps towards Rody. Her nose almost touched Rody’s chin. She then asked, "Tell me, Rody. Who are you really?"

Rody’s heart tightened and he took a step back.

"At the Dwarven Kingdom, you showed such powerful strength and have actually reached the legendary rank as a Domain Master. At that time, I was already feeling suspicious of you. Unfortunately, Sith was around. There were a lot of things that I could not ask you. Besides that, the old sorcerer also said you had the Mystic Dragon’s aura…That person you summoned, Sky, is also a Domain Master…The more I see, the more I do not understand you…" Nedis slowly resumed, "On top of that, the people close to you such as the Black Veil Saint apparently betrayed the Temple once you came to the Roland Continent. Looking at how intimate the two of you are, I believe you are the reason she became an apostate! However, this should be the first time you came to the Roland Continent! You and the Black Veil Saint are from different continents. How did you meet each other?"

Nedis continued to speak but looked as though she did not want Rody to answer her. It was as though she was just listing out her thoughts.

"In the Radiant Empire, you are Miss Nicole’s lover. I heard you are an officer in the Lightning God’s Whip, so this is not that hard to explain. But now, how do you explain the ‘Miss Nicole’ around you in the Roland Continent? A man who looks so similar to someone of the Tulip Family must be related…Hmm…"

The more Nedis spoke, the brighter her eyes shined. She exclaimed, "Putting these together, I can only think of one explanation!" Staring at Rody, she slowly said, "You are the Duke of the Tulip Family!"

However, the moment Nedis said it, her expression looked doubtful. "But how would that explain your love for the real Miss Nicole? Could it be that the two of you, as siblings, …"

Rody saw Nedis with an astonished expression and an evil smile as she looked at him. He panicked and quickly covered her mouth as he shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! Do you think this is something you could simply say?"

Nedis coldly replied, "Either way, you must give me an explanation today! Hmph! We have returned for so many days, but you keep avoiding me and not give me any opportunity to ask you. Now that we have to leave, you should be able to tell me, right?"

Rody laughed bitterly as he looked at Nedis. He still did not say anything. Nedis’ eyes suddenly lit up. "Right. Your current face must be a fake! I heard the Duke has blond hair and blue eyes. You must be wearing a magic mask..."

Nedis stretched out her hands as if she was trying to tear off Rody’s cheeks. Rody finally became impatient, shouting, "Are you done making trouble?"

He held Nedis’ hands looking annoyed. "These are all just your crazy ideas!"

"Then…you are not the Duke of the Tulip Family?" Nedis narrowed her eyes.

Rody was flustered but calmly replied, "I am not! I am not right now, and I would not be in the future! Satisfied?"

Truthfully speaking, Rody now feared the beautiful vampire. Nedis’ analysis might not have been exactly correct, but it was not far from the truth. It was a huge matter that others must not find out.

Rody had trained himself in the art of lying. He looked calm and a little bit impatient as though he was wronged.

Nedis coldly looked at Rody. She suddenly said, "Keep disguising yourself! I will follow you and see how long you can pretend!"

After that, with a whiff of fragrance, Nedis turned and left.

Rody heard the words ‘I will follow you’ and felt his scalp turn numb. He stood by the pond lost in thought.

...

The Prime Minister was sitting quietly. Even though he was one of the heavyweights in the Sauron Kingdom’s political circle, he did not attend the farewell banquet. The King also did not seem to have invited him. He was silently reading the confidential reports on the table in front of him.

The report clearly stated the route the Earl would take when returning to the Radiant Empire. It showed which day he would arrive at which city and which day he would arrive at the port.

The secret report had been sent to his table ten minutes prior. It was a secret report sent by his planted agent in the Royal Knights.

"Secret report?" The Prime Minister’s facial muscles contracted, looking like a dried tangerine skin. "It is really a ‘secret report’! What a joke!"

He stood up and walked back and forth. He then took a deep breath and muttered, "Looks like King Sauron is really skilled. Not only does he know I have connections with the Temple. He even knows I have an agent in the Royal Knights. Otherwise, this information would not have ‘fallen into’ my hands so quickly."

The Prime Minister looked so old that he seemed to have trouble moving. He stared at the report. His eyes suddenly gleamed cunningly as he stretched out his hand...

Without any warning sign, the parchment suddenly started to burn. It turned into ashes within a moment.

The weak-looking old man of the Sauron Kingdom actually had the abilities of a sorcerer.

"Hm. I cannot wait anymore…" The Prime Minister closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

Just an hour ago, he had decided on an action and a precondition with Empress Ruolan in that room. He did not expect the King to have acted so quickly. Fortunately, everything was still within expectations.

He came to a decision and suddenly stood straight. His slightly humpbacked body suddenly turned perfectly straight. He quickly grabbed a small curved sword hanging on the wall, then pulled the wall cabinet with one hand.

That object that looked as though it weighed two hundred kilograms of ironwood had been moved away by the weak-looking old man with just one hand!

Behind the wall was a small iron door. The Prime Minister inserted the curved sword into a socket above the iron door and firmly turned it.

It was cold inside the secret room as though ice was stored in it.

The Prime Minister then walked down the stairs behind the dark door. Under the ground was a small, dark room of about a dozen square meters.

The dark room looked plain. In the middle was a pond carved into the stone. Water was bubbling in the pond as though the water was boiling. There was even white steam floating out.

However, if a person were to stretch out his hand, he would feel a bone-piercing coldness. The white ‘steam’ was cold air. On top of that, a layer of shiny ice crystals could be seen on the stones at the edge of the pond.

The Prime Minister stood at the edge of that pond sighing and he started to undress.

He started by taking off his luxurious robes and then his silk underwear. Moments later, the Prime Minister looked like a person in a bathhouse. His emaciated appearance looked scary. The signs of his old age could be seen on his body. His skin was loose, and his muscles were weak. Even his thin ribs could be seen on his chest.

The Prime Minister looked at himself in the mirror by the wall and suddenly murmured, "Hmm. Every time I see this appearance, I feel very unpleasant."

He suddenly remembered Concubine Ruolan’s question. "I am curious. Aren’t you supposed to be on the Temple’s side? Why aren’t you protecting the Temple’s interest wholeheartedly?"

"Hmph…" The Prime Minister said to himself, "On the Temple’s side? What an interesting statement."

He lifted his feet and stepped into the water and gradually submerged his body in the cold biting waters...However, the Prime Minister did not seem to be in pain. On the contrary, he looked as though he felt comfortable.

After that, something strange happened.

When he soaked himself in the piercingly cold water, his originally aging skin suddenly glowed with a healthy luster. The muscles under his skin all seemed to move fluidly as though his muscles were rapidly changing shape...

The pale and gray-skinned old man glowed with a young and healthy luster. His shriveled-up body gradually bulged with healthy muscles.

Finally, he put his head in the water and soaked his head.

After a moment, he raised his head out of the water.

His gray hair turned into a healthy black and his old, dried tangerine face glowed with a clear white brilliance.

He had a strange pair of eyes. One of the pupils in his eyes was brown while the other was blue. His nose was high and straight. His mouth looked even more remarkable as it gently pursed as though he was looking at everything with disdain. However, when he smiled, there was an indescribable charm contained within.

At last, he walked out of the pond and stood naked at the side of the wall. His aged body had once again turned young and healthy. He stretched his hand and gently waved ...

A huge picture suddenly appeared on the black wall. The picture looked extremely complicated, but it was evident that it was a very advanced magic symbol.

It was a sorcery array for a long-distance transport spell!

He muttered an incantation softly. The sorcery array on the wall immediately drifted out like ripples. Taking a step forward, he walked into the wall...

Brilliant light flashed through an unknown room and a strong magical vibration appeared in the room. A naked man suddenly appeared from the sorcery array, seemingly squinting, then he sighed.

He looked around with a satisfactory smile on his face.

The room was completely sealed and had no windows. The only entrance was a stone door shut tightly. Unless a person was summoned, nobody would dare to open the door.

The Prime Minister that had assumed a new appearance took off a set of clothing on the wall to wear.

He wore a white robe with a peculiar texture on the outside and took a brand-new silver mask from the wall and wore it on his face. It revealed only his soft mouth.

He gently hit a small peculiar golden bell on the table. A moment later, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

Two people wearing the clothes of the Temple’s high-ranked priests stood at the entrance with their heads respectfully bowed. They respectfully asked, "Your Excellency the Pontiff, what are your orders?"

The old prime minister, or Prometheus, or Kara, rather, spoke in his gentle and familiar voice, "Summon the Elders. I want to convene an emergency Elder's meeting!"